Netflix Moves Forward With New Restrictions On Password Sharing

Netflix announced on Wednesday, February 8 that it will be moving forward with its plan to combat shared accounts.

Starting yesterday Spain, Portugal, Canada, and New Zealand, must all pay an additional fee for their family and friends, who do not reside with them, to share their account.

Netflix has given an overview of its new plans, stipulating that "each Netflix account is designed for a single household."

Subscribers to the Standard or Premium plans living in Spain, will be able to add “subaccounts” for people who do not live with them. An extra 5.99 euros per month will be charged to their account, whilst those living in Portugal will be charged 3.99 euros per month. In Canada 7.99 CAD and NZD per month will be added in Canada and New Zealand respectively.

The move comes after the company cracked down on password sharing in South America and is set to roll out in the UK by the end of March.

Netflix estimates that 100 million people worldwide use shared accounts, which has impacted the company's ability to invest in new programming. In a recent blog post, the firm announced plans to extend the new policy to more countries in the coming months.

Members in Spain, Canada, New Zealand, and Portugal will now have to set a "primary location" for their account and manage who has access to it. Subscribers will still be able to watch Netflix on personal devices and log in at other locations while traveling.

Despite not being popular among all users, Netflix's chief operating officer, Gregory Peters, has stated that the company expects to make up for any losses.

Although the company saw a decline in subscribers in the first half of 2022, it experienced a bigger-than-expected rise in the last three months,up 7.66 million, reaching a total of nearly 231 million paid subscribers worldwide.

In November, Netflix introduced a cheaper ad-supported option in 12 countries, including most of Europe, the UK, and the US.

Lastly, Netflix also guarantees that if you are traveling, you can continue to watch Netflix on other devices (such as a television in a hotel or vacation rental).

Sources

https://list23.com/1184810-netflix-spain-has-announced-that-it-will-phase-out-shared-accounts-as-part-of-its-transformation/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64573517